Sula and Nel are two young Black girls—clever and poor. They grow up together, sharing their secrets, dreams, and happiness. Then Sula breaks free from their small-town community in the uplands of Ohio to roam the cities of America. When she returns ten years later, much has changed, including Nel, who now has a husband and three children. The friendship between the two women becomes strained, and the whole town grows wary as Sula continues in her wayward, vagabond, and uncompromising ways.